News & Media Resources

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Media Information

COVID-19 is an emerging and rapidly evolving situation. Luminis Health is working with our public health partners at all levels and will continue to provide updated information as it becomes available.

Statements from Luminis Health related to COVID-19

Luminis Health hospitals, Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) and Doctors Community Hospital (DCH), have started a phased approach to resume non-emergent surgeries, starting with urgent, medically necessary procedures beginning this week. The decision was made following careful consideration of guidelines by the Maryland
Department of Health, as outlined in Governor Hogan’s “Roadmap to Recovery” plan for the state.

In phase one, AAMC and DCH are pre-screening cases for medical necessity — defined as non-life threatening issues but those that are likely to cause harm if they are delayed any further. The hospitals started with their backlog of cases since limiting surgeries and procedures to emergencies or
urgent cases only on March 18 after the governor’s statewide order. Doctors’ offices began contacting patients last week so they could be scheduled for evaluations prior to surgery.

“Now more than ever it’s important to stay on top of your health, which may require you to come in for a doctor’s appointment or procedure,” said Adrian Park, MD, chair of Surgery for Luminis Health. “An ‘I'll wait it out’ attitude due to fear of COVID-19 could put your health at
risk and cause long-term damage. Know that we are taking the precautions necessary for the safety of our patients and our providers.”

The health system’s safety protocols include:

Masking of all patients and employees

Extensive cleaning of exam rooms before every appointment

Frequent disinfection of common areas, including waiting rooms, elevators and bathrooms

Daily screening of all staff, following CDC and state guidelines

Daily screening of patients before coming to the office

Protected check-in and check-out procedures

“No Waiting Room” procedures to reduce exposure to other patients

As an additional safety precaution, and as recommended by the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation, patients are asked to self-isolate seven days prior to their scheduled procedure and complete a COVID-19 test two or three days prior to
their surgery.

As the health system plans for next phases beyond urgent, medically necessary procedures, information for resuming all other procedures, including elective, will be announced at a later date.

“We will continue to monitor our supply chain, service needs and status of the pandemic to guide our decision making — all while keeping the safety of our patients at the forefront of our planning,” said Park.

Some Luminis Health services have remained opened and available to the community, including behavioral health inpatient and outpatient services. The J. Kent McNew Family Medical Center and Pathways treatment center also implemented the health system’s measures to keep patients safe.

Statement on community donations

March 23, 2020

We are actively working with our local, state and federal partners to make sure we have enough supplies to see this pandemic through to the end. While we currently have the supplies needed to care for our patients and protect our staff, we are working diligently to increase our supply.
Recognizing that the public wants to help, we are prioritizing gifts of new/unused medical-grade equipment and supplies. Below is list of items we are accepting. We will be posting instructions on where to take donations.

• N95 masks, all sizes

• Isolation gowns

• Avagard or a product with greater than 60% alcohol content.

• Face shields with masks

• Yellow procedure masks

• Protective eyewear

• Oxivir wipes

We sincerely appreciate the generosity of our community. Ongoing, we are going to share on our social media channels ways that the community can support us with blood donations, hand-sewn masks, etc. Please watch our Facebook page for that information.

Statement on testing for medical personnel

March 23, 2020

Per Governor Hogan’s announcement today, we are prioritizing our testing resources for front-line health care workers, and for patients who are severely ill and require hospitalization.

Statement on overflow space

March 23, 2020

We are fortunate to have unused patient rooms within our existing facility that can be used in the event of overflow. Since we have suspended elective surgeries at this time, we also have newly freed space in those areas.

Updated statement on COVID-19 drive-up test sites

March 19, 2020

"AAMC has drive-up COVID-19 test sites only available to patients who have been registered in our system – these patients have already called their doctor, been phone screened and the doctor has entered an order for testing beforehand. Drive-up testing will be available at Doctors Community Hospital
starting on March 20 with the same criteria. Neither site is able to accommodate unscheduled drop-ins. We have plans to open additional drive-up test sites for patients in the coming days. These will similarly be for scheduled, ordered tests."

Press Release on tighter visitor restrictions

March 18, 2020

Caring for and protecting patients, families, employees, and the community during the COVID-19 pandemic is most important to Luminis Health. In order to do that, the health system is putting measures in place that further restrict visitors to its facilities.

Effective March 18, 2020 at 8 pm, Luminis Health is restricting all visitors at Anne Arundel Medical Center, Doctors Community Medical Center and Pathways until further notice. Exceptions are noted below. Where visitation is allowed, it will be limited to one visitor per day.

For patients in extremely critical, life-threatening condition or in hospice care/comfort care/end-of-life care, visitation will be determined by physicians caring for the patient.

Mothers in labor may have one visitor per day.

Children who are 21 years of age or under may have a parent or guardian accompany them.

Patients undergoing surgery may have a support person/visitor. This support person will be asked to leave the hospital/procedural area while waiting for the patient to complete surgery. Hospital staff will call the support person/visitor to return when it is time to pick up the patient.

Patients requiring an outpatient test or procedure where a companion is required for assistance, including discharge, may have one visitor. The visitor will be asked to leave the hospital or procedural area and will be called to return when the patient is ready for pick up.

People who serve as a surrogate decision maker, including power of attorney or court-appointed guardianship for a patient, and need to be physically present to engage in the decision-making process are permitted. The attending physician will be the final arbiter as to whether someone needs to be physically present.

People performing official governmental functions.

To support this safety measures, all visitors will be screened upon arrival, and must pass a health screening to enter the facility.

“AAMC has opened a drive-up COVID-19 test site only available to patients who have been registered in our system – these patients have already called their doctor, been phone screened and the doctor has entered an order for testing beforehand. We won't be able to
accommodate unscheduled drop-ins. We have plans to open additional drive-up test sites for patients in the coming days. These will similarly be for scheduled, ordered tests. Drive-up testing is not available at Doctors Community Hospital.”

Statement on testing criteria

March 17, 2020

“Only patients who are clinically indicated for a COVID-19 test will be offered one. Clinical indication is based on symptoms and answers to screening questions. We recommend people call their provider’s office in advance to determine if they require testing. Calling ahead also limits exposure to other vulnerable
patients who may be in waiting rooms.”

Statement on surgeries

March 16, 2020

“Starting Wednesday, March 18, Anne Arundel Medical Center and Doctors Community Hospital will limit our surgeries and procedures to emergencies or urgent cases only. We will reassess this decision every 72 hours as we continue to monitor COVID-19. We are calling all impacted patients directly.”

Statement on test supply

March 12, 2020

“We have daily check-ins to make sure we maintain an adequate supply of tests across our health system. There is not an unlimited supply but, at this time, we are confident in our ability to provide tests to those who meet the criteria.”